Itching to get started

With just over 24 hours to go until their first - and hugely important - official game of the season, the players trained at the Stade de Suisse. After a month of pre-season preparation, there's only one thing on everyone's minds: returning to competitive action.

The training session was a chance for the players to familiarise themselves with the Bern arena's synthetic pitch. After a full warm-up and the traditional rondo, Leonardo Jardim called out comamnds to his men as they took part in a ball-retention workshop on a limited section of the pitch. The focus then turned to tactics, as the players applied themselves to carrying out the coach's directives .

There was no shortage of enthusiasim or desire in training today, with the Red & Whites clearly itching to get started as their first competitive game of the season approaches. In fact, they were reluctant to leave the pitch at the end of the session, with some opting to practise free kicks and others penalties. The yellow and black nets at the home of the Young Boys were soon bulging. Let's hope they do so again on Tuesday night - to AS Monaco's benefit of course!